It took a lot less time than I thought to get the package. I got it on Wednesday. The beef jerky was so good. My companion and I ate it after our baptism this week to celebrate.
Oh, I forgot. Remember that picture of the huge butterfly. Well, supposedly when one of those is in your house, it means someone in your family is going to die...weird superstitions. Be careful these next couple weeks.
So this week has gone by so fast. We have been working so hard, it's awesome. We're also getting results. I think we've baptized every single week since I got my companion. And we're going to baptize again this week. Yeah, that's right. Again. I'll tell you the story. Just wait.
So, first of all, Monday. That was a stressful P-day. After writing, we went to pull money out of the ATMs, and we hitched a ride from a member because it was raining a lot. Well, I'm always the most careful about money, and I keep it in a little bag inside my pants so that I don't get robbed. So I pulled my wallet out in the car so that I wouldn't have to do it on the street, then got distracted and left my wallet in the car. Do you know how stressful it is to be in El Salvador and know that your wallet is in the car of an El Salvadoreano. Well, that member is actually really awesome. His name is Adonaí, he's an English teacher, and studies a lot of his English on urbandictionary.com, so naturally he's awesome. Well, finally I was able to call him in the night and it all turned out all right...but wow, it was stressful.
We also had another family home evening with the familia Herrera. So much fun. We had this delish strawberry atol after and played some sweet games. But I need more. So send me some ideas for FHE games, please. I don't know what to do about this family. We've tried everything and just can't get them to commit to getting married. They are way awesome, know it's true, are already active in the church...it's just this whole marriage thing. People in El Salvador don't get married. They need to make some drive-throughs like in Las Vegas, except no one has cars...so they need walk-throughs.
On Wednesday I went on interchanges with our zone leader, Elder Perez. That was an adventure. That guy's crazy. He's a short little chapin (you already have photos of him). But yeah. He also didn't know the area that well, so we kept getting lost. But it was a lot of fun. We taught some cool people.
Thursday I went and made hamburgers with an inactive family. Man, I miss eating hamburgers. They were so good. I was basically in heaven. There's a picture of me and Rafael. That guy's awesome too. He needs to go on a mission. Don't be inactive.
Saturday was fun. First of all, we organized a soccer game. It's kind of funny. If you say, "Hey, can you come to church with us?" no one can go. But if you say, "Hey, we're going to go play soccer, wanna play?" they say, "Yeah. What time? I'll bring a team." So I played. Also, the familia Herrera gave me an EL Salvador jersey, it's new, but an older jersey, and it's pretty sweet. So we played soccer. Wow. They're good. I need to learn this game. It's so freakin' sweet.
After that, we had a baptism for Raul. Raul is the son of an ex-branch president, Luis. Their family is awesome, and Raul was never baptized because he drank, and never wanted to. But after a trip to the temple he changed his mind, and we were able to baptize him. He's an "hombre de la finca" as says the Hermano Ruano. He's kind of slow. He doesn't think too fast, but he did understand. Also, he really didn't want to bend his knees in the baptismal font. I had to force him down, then I looked down and realized he was only halfway under, so I pushed him down more. Then I had to drag him out too. It was an interesting baptism. His parents were really happy, they were both crying. Then his mom gave the closing prayer, and it went on for about 5 minutes. Interesting. But he got baptized, and he got confirmed, and it's so awesome how much success we're getting right now. My companion is so awesome. Love that guy. We work so hard, and have a good time. It's just great.
Ha. So a couple of days ago I had an interesting lesson. We asked the guy to give us the closing prayer, and he said yes, then just said a silent prayer. We just bowed our heads and waited for him to say amen, but it never came. After a couple minutes, I looked up at a member, and mouthed "amen." He didn't want to, and we had an argument about who would say amen. Finally, I said it, and the investigators were all like "amen." It was really weird. But that's El Salvador.
Sunday the president was telling us about the temple dedication, and after his dad, an eternal investigator, came up to us and told us that he wanted to get baptized this Saturday. Cool. It's a miracle, knowing all of the problems he's had, but I'm so excited. I don't know why we're having so much success. Maybe it's faith, maybe it's because we work hard. We're not really doing anything special, but things are just working out. So cool. Vamos a tener un otro bautismo este Sábado. [We're going to have another baptism on Saturday.] Maybe even 3.
I also talked to an American on Sunday. We were crossing the freeway in the morning, and a biker slowed down and asked us in a hick accent if we knew where Santa Ana was. I explained to him how to get there, and after he asked if there was a restaurant around. I told him not really, there's just pupusas, and I don't think he was really excited. Made me think of Mike. Hmm. It's weird to speak English. I kept speaking Spanish without knowing it. Weird. Okay.
Well, I don't know what to do about the familia Herrera, but we're praying. Time is going so fast. It's kind of scary. We're just working hard. The mission is so much fun. I love it. We just have a good time, and we're helping other people come unto Christ and improve their lives. Well, thanks for the package. It made me baggy for a bit.
Keep choosing the right. El Salvador's sweet.
Elder Bailey
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